- Superior pool filtration solutions chosen for luxury building
- Waterco's diverse range of commerical filters suit every application
- Energy efficiencies align with the developer's environmental charter
Setting: London’s most infamous street
The Strand is a world-famous thoroughfare linking the cities of London and Westminster that is as renowned as the authors, poets and philosophers who once lived on or near this legendary street. It might only be 1200-metres long but it is forever etched in the history books thanks to its association with Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Virginia Woolf, and Britain’s upper class.
What started as a muddy track running east along the Thames became a prestigious postcode that saw the city's well-to-do elite caste build their ornate mansions. Today those buildings house department stores, cafés, restaurants and hotels.
Located a few doors down from Twinings – the famous tea shop that has occupied the same premises since 1706 – and just a short stroll from River Thames, Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square, is a new mixed-use luxury landmark building befitting of the elite social group that once walked the infamous road centuries earlier: 190 Strand.
Challenge: High-end filtration for two luxury swimming pools
Part of Berkeley Group Holdings, this flagship development contains two swimming pools in the resident’s communal Leisure Suite – a fully tiled mosaic pool of 125m3, and alongside a 30m3 vitality pool equipped with the latest in air and water jet features.
Designed and built by Aqua Platinum Projects, a multi award-winning company that specialises in high-end residential and commercial projects, both indoor pools needed a superior filtration solution befitting of their luxurious setting.
“With the plant room being located a level lower than the pools themselves, it was essential that the equipment that we used was of the highest quality and design,” explains Mr Ryan Fronda, Managing Director Aqua Platinum Projects. “That’s why we choose Waterco commercial filtration and circulation pumps, and worked closely with Paramount Pool Products."
Paramount Pool Products, which is known for supplying high-quality pool equipment to professional pool installers and retail outlets throughout the UK including Channel Islands and Ireland, was faced with the challenge of incorporating a system that was robust, reliable, and produced consistently clear pool water for its affluent residents and their guests.
“When we get involved in any form of commercial installation without hesitation we use Waterco, and have done for many years,” says Mr. Steve Martin, Managing Director Paramount Pool Products. “The range is diverse and there is a filter to suit every application. For this installation, the SMD range of filters was the preferred choice along with Waterco's commercial pumps and Ecopure glass filtration media.”
It was also important to ensure that the products met with Berkeleys need for “delivering environmental sustainability” and that’s exactly what the SMD range of Waterco Micron Commercial Filters achieve. Incorporating the patented “fish tail” lateral design for maximum hydraulic performance, they ensure the highest quality filtration whilst reducing backwash times, which in turn saves water that is chemically treated and heated.
Solution: Waterco’s high-performance, high-flow rate system
Waterco Europe’s commercial fibreglass pool filters and pumps are well-known in the swimming pool industry for their unparalleled hydraulic performance, non-corrosive construction, and all-round reliability.
For 190 Strand, the experienced professionals at Aqua Platinum Projects and Paramount Pool Products installed a range of Waterco equipment, including: two SMD1200 Micron Commercial Fibreglass Filters, along with two Hydrostar 4HP pumps; and for the vitality pool, two SMD1050 Micron Commercial Fibreglass Filters and two 4HP Hydrostar pumps for the main circulation and jets. Three Hydrostorm 1HP Pumps were selected for the water features.
An environmentally friendly and viable alternative to sand, Waterco's Ecopure glass media meant that the required standard of filtration was achieved, along with substantial water savings through less backwashing.
Designed specifically for filter bed depth of 1m metre the Waterco’s fibreglass SMD range of commercial filters provide enhanced in-depth filtration and increased dirt capacity, resulting in crystal clear, sparkling clean pool water.
Also, manufactured for commercial and extra-large domestic pools is Waterco’s high-performance range of commercial pumps, which provide the extra power needed to cope with ancillary systems like water features, in-floor cleaning, vacuum cleaning, and swim or spa jets.
The pump’s impeller and diffuser design maximises the hydraulic output of the pump while minimising turbulence. The pump’s efficient hydraulic performance shortens run times and reduces energy consumption leading to lower operating costs – an important feature that aligns with the developer’s sustainability charter.
Waterco’s Hydrostar pump body is manufactured utilising state-of-the art engineering plastic moulding with a single piece strainer pot and volute for extra strength. A high-grade 316 stainless steel mechanical seal is incorporated for extra protection against corrosion including chlorinated water, ozone, iodine, Baquacil, bromine and salt water.
Conclusion: Peace of mind for pool operation staff
Knowing Waterco commercial pool equipment has been manufactured and supplied for over 30 years all over the world in many different applications – along with its long-standing UK base – meant that Aqua Platinum Projects had full confidence in the supply, quality of the product, and service.
According to Waterco Europe CEO Tony Fisher, “peace of mind was needed and that’s what they got when they installed Waterco”.
“Being a high-end luxury apartment in central London meant that the pool had to be of the highest quality, which also meant the equipment had to be as well,” he says. “That’s why Waterco was the preferred choice.”
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